Working together to combat unhealthy narratives on how men should support their mental health.

We know the statistics:

• Men account for 76% of deaths by suicide.
• Suicide is the biggest cause of death in men under 50.
• By deprivation, middle-aged men, living in the most deprived areas, face even higher risk with suicide rates of up to 36.6 per 100,000 compared to 13.5 per 100,000

We know it effects men in the Withington and Old Moat Neighbourhood:

• 2,233 Men living in Withington and Old Moat have a serious mental illness diagnosis with 81.7% of these men living in the highest 2 levels of deprivation.

But what can we do to change this?

Yasmin Holgeth from Manchester Local Care Organisation recently brought together Mandem Meetup and Withington Walls to do a collaboration with the community to break down stigma around men’s mental health.

Working with men living in and around the Old Moat area, Withington Walls and Mandem Meetup co-produce a mural which aims to encourage men to speak up about their mental health as a way to share their challenges, improve social connections and reduce the risk of suicide.

Mandem Meetup is a grassroots charity promoting, correcting and improving the conversation around men’s mental health and wellbeing: www.mandemmeetup.org

Withington Walls are a collective of street artists, transforming Withington into a hub of creativity, culture, and connection. Oskar with a K was the artist who led on this collaboration. www.oskarwithak.com

In February 2026 they provided an initial design workshop at Withington Baths, where men came to have their say on how the street art should look and to agree on the message the artwork would portray.

Following on from this in March 2026 the men from the initial workshop and additional men who wanted to get involved worked with the talented street artist ‘Oskar with a K’ to paint the side wall of Go Local Extra on Burton Rd, layering a range of colours and textures using spray paints and stencils to produce a positive message of brotherhood and solidarity for all of the community.

The artwork shared the following message:

If you replace ‘I’ with ‘We’ even illness becomes wellness

The wider community also turned out on the day to support the cause, spray tote bags, enjoy music and celebrate the message behind the artwork.

We asked the men who took part in the painting ‘When you see this mural what does it make you think/feel?’ and this is what they had to say:

“This artwork gives me hope for the future”

“It helps me feel part of a community, unity!”

“United”

“Solidarity”

They also shared how it felt participating in the project:

“Taking part in this project has taught me that you can step out of your comfort zone and do something different”

“I feel like I have known these guys for years”

What else are we doing?

This project forms part of a wider approach to improving men’s health in the Withington and Old Moat neighbourhood, including free Men’s Health Drop In and Advice Sessions on the last Friday of each month 10am-2pm at Withington Library facilitated by Be Well.

Free Men’s Talking Circles which take place on the 2nd and 4th Monday of each month at 7pm at Withington Baths and are facilitated by Mandem Meetup.

Withington and Fallowfield PCN (collective of local GP’s) have also been proactive in reaching out to male patients via SMS to offer support and signposting into mental health and cost of living support services.

On behalf of all the partners who have been involved in delivering this project, we would like to say a special thank you to Withington Baths for supporting this initiative and to Go Local Extra (Burton Rd) for providing a wall for the artwork.

(Photos ©FionaFinchett)